El Molino has added some new apps and dishes to it’s menu for this second location.

Samantha Marie Photography

If we could describe all the recent openings in one word, it would be expansion. And similarly, there’s also a contraction, as old spaces continue to close, which we recently reported on.

Almost all the new concepts are from familiar faces around North Texas, opening second, third, and tenth locations in Dallas proper and the surrounding areas. Others include two new sports bars with sports celebrity backing, a fondue restaurant that’s persevered for over four decades, and a genius new addition to Deep Ellum.

These are all the restaurants that opened in Dallas and the surrounding areas last month.

Vidorra
700 W State Hwy 114 (Grapevine)
Margaritas, fajitas and tacos from Vidorra are now open at the concept’s fifth location in North Texas. This vibey spot started in Deep Ellum and is known for its big energy, patios and tacos.

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El Molino
6025 Royal Lane
Vandelay Hospitality closed its experimental Anchor Sushi Bar location in Preston Royal, and opened a second El Molino location in its place. The first Anchor Sushi Bar will remain open on Knox Street. We initially wrote in an article about this expansion that the “6,000 square-foot space will highlight El Molino’s recently-expanded menu. While initial offerings stuck mostly to fajita and enchilada variations, the menu now also touts starters, steaks and seafood. Examples include Elote Corn Chowder, Salmon Primavera Salad and Branzino Diamanté, in addition to standards like grilled chicken fajitas and smoked brisket enchiladas.”

The Cipher Lounge
101 S Chestnut St. The Cipher Lounge is a brand-new escape-room-meets-restaurant-and-bar concept in Historic Downtown McKinney. Ghosted and Airlock are the two escape rooms you have an hour to solve; then you can spend time before or after in the lounge that serves wine bar-esque shareable plates like cheese boards and whipped feta, plus plenty of spirits, wine and cocktails.

PopUp Bagels McKinney
8565 W University Drive
At this rate, PopUp Bagels is going to have a shop in every street corner of North Texas. They hope this third location in McKinney will fill the bagel desert they think Dallas has. We have plenty of great bagels, but what we don’t have are PopUp’s creative schmears like pepperoncini and jalapeño popper cream cheese. They got us there.

Wings by the Pound
2707 Main St.
Whoever thought to open a late-night wing spot that sells bone-in and tenders by the pound in Deep Ellum, you’re a genius. We can’t say we’ll be trying it soon as wings by the pound isn’t on our dinner BINGO card, but we’ll ask around.

Maman
7200 Bishop Road (Plano)
Maman is on a roll in the metro this year with its third opening in Plano. Its East Coast, Martha Stewart vibe is a shoo-in at the Shops at Legacy. The high-end pastries are quite decadent. Editor Lauren Drewes Daniels loved the Texas-only pastry when she tried it but blew the whistle on a koiugn-amann. Go here to feel chic and sugary.

Coco Shrimp
2525 Wycliff Ave.
Coco Shrimp’s tenth location in North Texas finally opened in Dallas proper next to the original Mike’s Chicken and Oiishi Sushi & Pan Asian in Uptown. This chain is inspired by shrimp trucks of Oahu’s North Shore in Hawaii.

La La Land Cafe Frisco
11660 Legacy Drive
La La Land’s vibrant and upbeat cafe has made its way to Frisco. It’s one of three new locations in Austin, Dallas and Cypress. This location sports patio and indoor dining, and a drive-thru.

Sip’Stroke Lounge
5969 Dallas Parkway
The owner of the newly opened Skyline Lounge in downtown Dallas and franchisee of Feng Cha, a popular Asian beverage and dessert chain, opened this brand-new concept in Plano. His goal was to make it an “eatertainment” complex, where you can play nine holes of golf and enjoy an exceptional New American dining menu that is lightly globe-trotting.

Shark Club Sports Bar and Grill
13850 Chadwick Parkway (Northlake)
Dallas Stars owner Tom Gaglardi opened this brand-new sports bar inside the Children’s Health StarCenter Multisport complex, which hosts a bunch of different community sports for all ages. Finally, now we can pregame youth sporting events.

The Melting Pot
935 Watters Creek Boulevard (Allen)
Dallas just lost its longstanding fondue restaurant, but The Melting Pot is another that is still going strong. It originally opened in Florida in 2003, and recently celebrated its 45th anniversary in 2020. This is the third location in our metroplex and the seventh location in Texas.

Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux
906 FM 544 (Wylie)
This Cajun sports bar and restaurant was founded in Baton Rouge by Brandon Landry and co-owned by New Orleans Saints superstar Drew Brees. The concept was brought to life in 2003 and now has two locations in the DFW metroplex, one in Grandscape and the new one in Wylie. Walk On’s serves southern favorites like fried alligator, chicken and sausage gumbo, shrimp and grits and other game day favorites.